History WebVideo / MasahiroSakuraiOnCreatingGames

''Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games'' is an online video channel on Website/YouTube. [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin As the name implies]], the series is all about Creator/MasahiroSakurai offering his advice and opinions to up-and-coming video game designers on [[UsefulNotes/VideoGameDesign how to make video games more enjoyable and entertaining for the players who play them]], as well as dipping into Sakurai's own history with creating games. Through the videos, Sakurai aims to both [[EdutainmentShow entertain people and educate them on video game creation]].

* AnAesop:
** For all of the other things he talks about, Sakurai admits that the one thing to always keep in mind is that a game developer's job is to entertain the players.
** "Game Development Isn't a Game" contains the HardTruthAesop that passion alone won't help a creator make a game; you need to treat it like any other job and work hard at it. A hypothetical example is shown of a designer who likes cute things being tasked with rendering a decaying zombie for a horror game.
** ShowDontTell is in full effect for video games. The way Sakurai tells it across his channels, he tries to instill upon up-and-coming game creators that there's a right way and a wrong way to give the player feedback.
** "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzWibA7izF8 Spec Changes]]": Sometimes problems happen that necessitate lengthy and drastic changes. Always remain flexible and be proactive when doing so. In addition, PoorCommunicationKills when problems arise in development; try to make potential issues known as quickly as possible and make informed decisions about how to react accordingly.

* LicensedGame:[[invoked]] In "Fun Beyond Game Essence", Sakurai argues that the main goal of a licensed game is generally to entertain established fans of the game's intellectual property with an enjoyable experience in the world of that IP over making new fans, in the same vein as other pieces of merchandise for that IP like the toys and TheMovie.

* KnowWhenToFoldEm: In "[[https://youtu.be/_-WyivvfibM Making a Living Making Games]]", Sakurai states that should you find that your first video game goes horribly wrong in development, it's okay to give up, as you'll realize that the career path of game development just isn't for you.

* TheCameo: In "[[https://youtu.be/ysaNUatLMn0 Exercise While You Game!]]", while Sakurai is discussing how there are multiple things to watch while exercising due to subscription services, the first two characters shown on the television are ([[CaptainErsatz copyright-friendly versions]] of) Franchise/SherlockHolmes and ComicBook/{{Superman}}.

* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: [[invoked]]{{Discussed|Trope}} in "[[https://youtu.be/tafG03n89MY The Potential of One Button]]" with ButtonMashing. Because button mashing is an overall tiring experience and is usually tailored towards players who are naturally gifted at rapid pressing, games that are designed around it have fallen out of fashion as a result.

* UniquenessValue: In [[https://youtu.be/Yk8WsbCQXGc Show and Tell: Some Rare Belongings]], Sakurai displays some items from his personal collection that are otherwise unique to him or a very limited number of people. While this obviously includes the many game awards he's won over the years, he makes a point of displaying some more unusual artifacts, such as a Wii Remote with a Mii of himself engraved on it (as it was created by someone else, it looks nothing like the Mii he usually uses), a 3D printed statue of Pit and Palutena used as a model for the [[https://kidicarus.fandom.com/wiki/Kid_Icarus_Float_-_AR_Card Kid Icarus Float]] from the 2011 Goshogawara Tachineputa Festival, a copy of ''Super Mario All-Stars: Limited Edition'' signed by Shigeru Miyamoto, and an Xbox 360 with his name engraved on a steel plate.

* NostalgiaFilter: "[[https://youtu.be/CVQ4PuihnTk That Was Then, This is Now]]" touches upon the concept of comparing old games to new games. Sakurai acknowledges that while games in days past tend to be more inventive and experimental in nature before the modern concepts of game design were formed, games have objectively improved technologically over the years and the tinted lenses that we view old games through tend to be a byproduct of our impressionable youth. Sakurai claims that while video games wouldn't have made it this far without the games of years past, we should always welcome new games and keep an open mind towards new things.

* ToughActToFollow: "[[https://youtu.be/EhcitspNMuI Competing with the Past]]" {{discusse|d trope}}s how games in the modern era still have to compete with the expectations set by games of the past, and as such, need to offer variety to stand out from the crowd.[[invoked]]

* NostalgiaFilter: "[[https://youtu.be/CVQ4PuihnTk That Was Then, This is Now]]" touches upon the concept of comparing old games to new games. Sakurai acknowledges that while games in days past tend to be more inventive and experimental in nature before the modern concepts of game design were formed, games have objectively improved over the years and the tinted lenses that we view old games through tend to be a byproduct of our impressionable youth. Sakurai claims that while video games wouldn't have made it this far without the games of years past, we should always welcome new games and keep an open mind towards new things.

* OneHitPointWonder: [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] in Sakurai's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QH1cQWmXlY arcade matches against Arino Kacho]]. They play against each other in various arcade games (ordered in chronological order), and in them Sakurai loses a match when he loses a single life, whereas Kacho only loses a match when he loses three. Surprisingly, in the first part of the challenge, Sakurai ends up winning five times, and in the four where Kacho wins Sakurai still manages to show an efficient performance.

* CentralTheme: In regards to game design, Sakurai believes strongly in the concept of "push and pull", which is the idea of using risk and reward to encourage the player to extract more fun out of the game by testing their limits and pushing their capabilities; Sakurai refers to this concept "as the "game essence" that is at the core of all games that he makes and what games should strive to achieve. That said, as mentioned in "[[https://youtu.be/Dq7X8-lB0is Fun Beyond Game Essence]]", there are genres of games that don't necessarily rely on this element to be fun or successful, such as {{rhythm game}}s, {{visual novel}}s, and {{simulation game}}s.

* {{Crossover}}: The October 13th, 2023 episode is a crossover with ''Series/RetroGameMaster'', with Sakurai and Arino playing various arcade games together. While it is not the first time the two have appeared together, it is the first time Sakurai has done so as an independent creator. The episode notably combines the visual design of ''Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games'' with the narration and presentation of ''Retro Game Master''. This was reciprocated by a [[https://youtu.be/XISvToVZSqU?si=_VAReqnm0VXRc0wu special episode]] of ''Retro Game Master'' where Sakurai and Arino play ''Super Smash Bros. 64''.

* {{Crossover}}: The October 13th, 2023 episode is a crossover with ''Series/RetroGameMaster'', with Sakurai and Arino playing various arcade games together. The episode notably combines the visual design of ''Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games'' with the narration and presentation of ''Retro Game Master''. This was reciprocated by a [[https://youtu.be/XISvToVZSqU?si=_VAReqnm0VXRc0wu special episode]] of ''Retro Game Master'' where Sakurai and Arino play ''Super Smash Bros. 64''.

* {{Crossover}}: The October 13th, 2023 episode is a crossover with ''Series/RetroGameMaster'', with Sakurai and Arino playing various arcade games together. The episode notably combines the visual design of ''Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games'' with the narration and presentation of ''Retro Game Master''.

* '''S: Special Crossover''' -- videos that feature {{Crossover}} content with other creators.

* {{Crossover}}: The October 13th, 2023 episode is a crossover with ''Series/RetroGameMaster'', with Sakurai and Arino playing the ''VideoGame/SpaceInvaders'' franchise together. The episode notably combines the visual design of ''Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games'' with the narration and presentation of ''Retro Game Master''.

* {{Crossover}}: The October 13th, 2023 episode is a crossover with ''Series/RetroGameMaster'', with Sakurai and Arino playing games together.

* UniquenessValue: In [[https://youtu.be/Yk8WsbCQXGc Show and Tell: Some Rare Belongings]], Sakurai displays some items from his personal collection that are otherwise unique to him or a very limited number of people. While this obviously includes the many game awards he's won over the years, he makes a point of displaying some more unusual artifacts, such as a Wiimote with a Mii of himself engraved on it, a 3D printed statue of Pit and Palutena used as a model for the [[https://kidicarus.fandom.com/wiki/Kid_Icarus_Float_-_AR_Card Kid Icarus Float]] from the 2011 Goshogawara Tachineputa Festival, a copy of ''Super Mario All-Stars: Limited Edition'' signed by Shigeru Miyamoto, and an Xbox 360 with his name engraved on a steel plate.